Sopwith Baby Project

[Fritz Kempf]

Looks Sweet!!!!

[Avro Avian]

Love the windscreen Russ!

[drrivah]

Superb attention to detail: a gem, Russ.

[snj5]

Originally Posted by Avro Avian

Love the windscreen Russ!

I really appreciate someone noticing that!

Thanks everyone. I hope I can fly it!

[drrivah]

Your color scheme and over all proportions calls to mind the NASM's Verville-Sperry M1, given to NASM by Eddie Rickenbacker: nice looking aircraft.



We look fwd to technical stats and flight reports on your Baby.

Most would consider your Camel a significant achievement. Now this one trumps the Camel.

Of course, it begs the post-Baby question: What Next, Russ?

Thanks.

-peb

[snj5]

The Airdrome Sopwith Tabloid, Schneider and Baby are basically the same airframe, differing in small details and engine. The length is 22'10" with a wingspan of about 25'8".
Airdrome Baby N8184 weighed in at 890 pounds, and will carry a crew weight of 400 pounds with a MAC at 32% - easy peasy.. The weight of the Rotec before the wings allows a much higher payload after. N8184 is a bit heavier due to an extra layer of paint (we changed colors) at about 30 lbs and lots of detais such as a cast metal Lewis gun replica.

The series can be set up as a side-by side or one very comfortable big guy (yea me!). The original Baby config was a single seat with a wheel and rudder bar, which is what we used. It is a bit of a Pup for big guys. I stil have yet to do the ash landing skids, and a few other details, but she has a CoA and I am very happy.

Robert Baslee, who always likes Blake's flashy artwork planes better than my drab kites, remarked: "That's sure a generic looking plane". Well, that's exactly what I was going for...

[snj5]

Although this photo is from earlier in the build, it does give one an idea of the cockpit, wheel, throttle and rudder bar. The positions of the instruments and general arrangement were suggested by a very faded photo of what is purported to be a Sopwith Baby cockpit. The empty holder on the left is for a pocket watch not yet installed.The rudder bar and wheel controls were taken with some modification off of the original aircraft drawings, but still retain the feel and relationships. And, yes, the little box on the side is the entire electrical system, there for the alternator, battery and starter.

I would like an earlier compass and will trade the current one if some one has a type 200 or so.

No, there are no brakes as of yet.

[Joe Perkel]

Russ,

A rare visit to the forum to simply express my great pleasure in seeing a Sopwith Baby come to life on this thread.

......and, in such spectacular form!

[brinesharks]

What a great cockpit! Really looks the part.

[Joe Perkel]

Would someone be so kind as to forward this to Achim, I have precious little time to spend tapping this out on an iPhone only to find myself locked out.


Achim,

Having never addressed you in my time as a forum member, I wish to express my sadness for the current circumstances as well as my admiration *for your work.

I have noted well your recent comments on the other forum and find it of supreme interest that the "Build a better mousetrap" maxim appears to have failed you in this industry. No one can deny that yours are the finest mousetraps ever built.

Therefore the lesson that one takes from your experience is that this is a failure within the market as opposed to the product.

Your journey most certainly began with a passion to create; to bring to life machines of wondrous beauty representative of humanities brilliance as well as his foolishness.

As one who shares this passion, I will share with you in open forum that it is my desire to one day create such wonders to the extent that I am pursuing a business line for no other purpose than to fund the effort.*

To see such things come to fruition while breaking even financially, is my post retirement goal.

I tell you this only in the hope that I may with some small effort on my part, help to re-ignite the flame.